ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: Undertaking serious efforts to commute death penalty to life imprisonment in thousands of cases, the government has formed a high-level committee to deliberate on the matter and come up with recommendations.

“The prime minister has constituted a committee comprising interior minister, law minister, attorney general and representatives of provincial governments to come up with recommendations on the issue,” President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Dawn.

The spokesman issued the statement in view of the media reports that said a number of mercy petitions of condemned prisoners were pending in the presidency and no decision was being taken on them.